Mobile auditable and tamper-resistant digital-system usage tracking and analytics

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for recording, tracking, and analyzing digital software usage in a distributed database that is used by multiple participants are described herein. A single usage event may occur, and may be identified by a client device. The usage event may be emitted to one or more nodes, which may include an aggregator node and/or one or more validator nodes. A block in a distributed database may be created to record the usage event. A mixed-mode mechanism may be used by one or more devices to validate the usage event.

FIELD

Aspects described herein generally relate to computers, software andnetworking. More specifically, aspects described herein related to adistributed database for recording and tracking usage events. Forexample, usage events may relate to cloud computing and/or mobilecomputing.

BACKGROUND

Many digital systems have limited resources. For example, cloudcomputing platforms have processors, memory, and storage available to alarge number of concurrent users, but not all the users can use all theresources at the same time. Similarly, digital computer networks havelimited amounts of bandwidth. Thus, there will always be a need fordigital systems to determine, track, and analyze usage patterns amongmany different users, as well as usage by individual users. There willalso be a need for users to verify that service providers are analyzingand quantifying usage accurately.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of various aspects describedherein. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intendedto identify required or critical elements or to delineate the scope ofthe claims. The following summary merely presents some concepts in asimplified form as an introductory prelude to the more detaileddescription provided below.

To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and toovercome other limitations that will be apparent upon reading andunderstanding the present specification, aspects described herein aredirected towards recording, tracking, and analyzing digital softwareusage in a distributed database that is used by multiple participants.

In one or more embodiments, a computing device may include at least oneprocessor; and memory storing computer-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:receive a request to register a client device with a cloud service, therequest comprising a client identity associated with the client device,the cloud service associated with a distributed database; send aconfirmation of registration of the client device with the cloudservice; receive, from the client device, usage event data comprisingusage event details regarding a usage event associated with the clientdevice; receive a verification request for verification of a pendingtransaction associated with the usage event associated with the clientdevice, the pending transaction comprising a request to add a databaseentry to the distributed database; send the verification of the pendingtransaction associated with the usage event associated with the clientdevice; receive a notification of the database entry to the distributeddatabase; and update a local copy of the distributed database to includethe database entry.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to determine whether thedistributed database includes a duplicate database entry correspondingto the pending transaction associated with the usage event associatedwith the client device; and based on determining that the distributeddatabase does not include the duplicate database entry corresponding tothe pending transaction associated with the usage event associated withthe client device, send the verification of the pending transactionassociated with the usage event associated with the client device.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to determine whether thedistributed database includes a plurality of database entries associatedwith the client device from within a threshold period of time; and basedon determining that the distributed database does not include theplurality of database entries associated with the client device fromwithin the threshold period of time, send the verification of thepending transaction associated with the usage event associated with theclient device.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to receive a request to audit thedistributed database; and send, responsive to the request to audit thedistributed database, information regarding one or more entries of thedistributed database.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to receive, from a client agentthat has created the client identity associated with the client devicesuch that the client identity is associated with the distributeddatabase, the request to register the client device with the cloudservice.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to receive, as part of receivingthe notification of the database entry to the distributed database, anotification of a creation of a new block based on usage event detailsfrom the client device matching usage event details from theverification of the pending transaction sent from the computing deviceand associated with the client device.

In one or more embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the computing device to determine a number of clientdevices registered with the cloud service; determine usage informationregarding the client devices registered with the cloud service;determine, based on the usage information regarding the client devicesregistered with the cloud service, whether usage reported by the clientdevices registered with the cloud service is below a threshold; andbased on the usage reported by the client devices registered with thecloud service being below the threshold, send a message to the clientdevice indicating that there is a problem with usage reporting from theclient device.

One or more embodiments may include a method comprising: receiving, byan aggregator device, e a request to register a client device with acloud service, the request comprising a client identity associated withthe client device, the cloud service associated with a distributeddatabase; sending, by the aggregator device, a confirmation ofregistration of the client device with the cloud service; receiving, bythe aggregator device and from the client device, usage event datacomprising usage event details regarding a usage event associated withthe client device; receiving, by the aggregator device, a verificationrequest for verification of a pending transaction associated with theusage event associated with the client device, the pending transactioncomprising a request to add a database entry to the distributeddatabase; sending, by the aggregator device, the verification of thepending transaction associated with the usage event associated with theclient device; receiving, by the aggregator device, a notification ofthe database entry to the distributed database; and updating, by theaggregator device, a local copy of the distributed database to includethe database entry.

One or more embodiments may include one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing executable instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause a system to: receive a requestto register a client device with a cloud service, the request comprisinga client identity associated with the client device, the cloud serviceassociated with a distributed database; send a confirmation ofregistration of the client device with the cloud service; receive, fromthe client device, usage event data comprising usage event detailsregarding a usage event associated with the client device; receive averification request for verification of a pending transactionassociated with the usage event associated with the client device, thepending transaction comprising a request to add a database entry to thedistributed database; send the verification of the pending transactionassociated with the usage event associated with the client device;receive a notification of the database entry to the distributeddatabase; and update a local copy of the distributed database to includethe database entry.

These and additional aspects will be appreciated with the benefit of thedisclosures discussed in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of aspects described herein and theadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative computer system architecture that may beused in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative remote-access system architecture thatmay be used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative virtualized (hypervisor) systemarchitecture that may be used in accordance with one or moreillustrative aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative cloud-based system architecture that maybe used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative enterprise mobility management system.

FIG. 6 depicts another illustrative enterprise mobility managementsystem.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a process for processingand verifying transactions for a distributed database in accordance withone or more illustrative aspects described herein.

FIG. 8A depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a process for aproof-of-license method for using a distributed database for dataservice usage analytics in accordance with one or more illustrativeaspects described herein.

FIG. 8B depicts an illustrative system flow diagram of a process for aproof-of-license method for using a distributed database for dataservice usage analytics in accordance with one or more illustrativeaspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings identified above and which form a parthereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodimentsin which aspects described herein may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scopedescribed herein. Various aspects are capable of other embodiments andof being practiced or being carried out in various different ways.

As a general introduction to the subject matter described in more detailbelow, aspects described herein are directed towards recording,tracking, and analyzing digital software usage in a distributed databasethat is used by multiple participants. A single usage event may occur,and may be identified by a client device. The usage event may be emittedto one or more nodes, which may include an aggregator node and/or one ormore validator nodes. A block in a distributed database may be createdto record the usage event. A mixed-mode mechanism may be used by one ormore devices to validate the usage event.

It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used hereinare for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. Rather, the phrases and terms used herein are to be giventheir broadest interpretation and meaning. The use of “including” and“comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the itemslisted thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional itemsand equivalents thereof. The use of the terms “mounted,” “connected,”“coupled,” “positioned,” “engaged” and similar terms, is meant toinclude both direct and indirect mounting, connecting, coupling,positioning and engaging.

Computing Architecture

Computer software, hardware, and networks may be utilized in a varietyof different system environments, including standalone, networked,remote-access (also known as remote desktop), virtualized, and/orcloud-based environments, among others. FIG. 1 illustrates one exampleof a system architecture and data processing device that may be used toimplement one or more illustrative aspects described herein in astandalone and/or networked environment. Various network nodes 103, 105,107, and 109 may be interconnected via a wide area network (WAN) 101,such as the Internet. Other networks may also or alternatively be used,including private intranets, corporate networks, local area networks(LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), wireless networks, personalnetworks (PAN), and the like. Network 101 is for illustration purposesand may be replaced with fewer or additional computer networks. A localarea network 133 may have one or more of any known LAN topology and mayuse one or more of a variety of different protocols, such as Ethernet.Devices 103, 105, 107, and 109 and other devices (not shown) may beconnected to one or more of the networks via twisted pair wires, coaxialcable, fiber optics, radio waves, or other communication media.

The term “network” as used herein and depicted in the drawings refersnot only to systems in which remote storage devices are coupled togethervia one or more communication paths, but also to stand-alone devicesthat may be coupled, from time to time, to such systems that havestorage capability. Consequently, the term “network” includes not only a“physical network” but also a “content network,” which is comprised ofthe data—attributable to a single entity—which resides across allphysical networks.

The components may include data server 103, web server 105, and clientcomputers 107, 109. Data server 103 provides overall access, control andadministration of databases and control software for performing one ormore illustrative aspects describe herein. Data server 103 may beconnected to web server 105 through which users interact with and obtaindata as requested. Alternatively, data server 103 may act as a webserver itself and be directly connected to the Internet. Data server 103may be connected to web server 105 through the local area network 133,the wide area network 101 (e.g., the Internet), via direct or indirectconnection, or via some other network. Users may interact with the dataserver 103 using remote computers 107, 109, e.g., using a web browser toconnect to the data server 103 via one or more externally exposed websites hosted by web server 105. Client computers 107, 109 may be used inconcert with data server 103 to access data stored therein, or may beused for other purposes. For example, from client device 107 a user mayaccess web server 105 using an Internet browser, as is known in the art,or by executing a software application that communicates with web server105 and/or data server 103 over a computer network (such as theInternet).

Servers and applications may be combined on the same physical machines,and retain separate virtual or logical addresses, or may reside onseparate physical machines. FIG. 1 illustrates just one example of anetwork architecture that may be used, and those of skill in the artwill appreciate that the specific network architecture and dataprocessing devices used may vary, and are secondary to the functionalitythat they provide, as further described herein. For example, servicesprovided by web server 105 and data server 103 may be combined on asingle server.

Each component 103, 105, 107, 109 may be any type of known computer,server, or data processing device. Data server 103, e.g., may include aprocessor 111 controlling overall operation of the data server 103. Dataserver 103 may further include random access memory (RAM) 113, read onlymemory (ROM) 115, network interface 117, input/output interfaces 119(e.g., keyboard, mouse, display, printer, etc.), and memory 121.Input/output (I/O) 119 may include a variety of interface units anddrives for reading, writing, displaying, and/or printing data or files.Memory 121 may further store operating system software 123 forcontrolling overall operation of the data processing device 103, controllogic 125 for instructing data server 103 to perform aspects describedherein, and other application software 127 providing secondary, support,and/or other functionality which may or might not be used in conjunctionwith aspects described herein. The control logic 125 may also bereferred to herein as the data server software 125. Functionality of thedata server software 125 may refer to operations or decisions madeautomatically based on rules coded into the control logic 125, mademanually by a user providing input into the system, and/or a combinationof automatic processing based on user input (e.g., queries, dataupdates, etc.).

Memory 121 may also store data used in performance of one or moreaspects described herein, including a first database 129 and a seconddatabase 131. In some embodiments, the first database 129 may includethe second database 131 (e.g., as a separate table, report, etc.). Thatis, the information can be stored in a single database, or separatedinto different logical, virtual, or physical databases, depending onsystem design. Devices 105, 107, and 109 may have similar or differentarchitecture as described with respect to device 103. Those of skill inthe art will appreciate that the functionality of data processing device103 (or device 105, 107, or 109) as described herein may be spreadacross multiple data processing devices, for example, to distributeprocessing load across multiple computers, to segregate transactionsbased on geographic location, user access level, quality of service(QoS), etc.

One or more aspects may be embodied in computer-usable or readable dataand/or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more programmodules, executed by one or more computers or other devices as describedherein. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor ina computer or other device. The modules may be written in a source codeprogramming language that is subsequently compiled for execution, or maybe written in a scripting language such as (but not limited to)HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML).The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computerreadable medium such as a nonvolatile storage device. Any suitablecomputer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various transmission (non-storage)media representing data or events as described herein may be transferredbetween a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic wavestraveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, opticalfibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a dataprocessing system, or a computer program product. Therefore, variousfunctionalities may be embodied in whole or in part in software,firmware, and/or hardware or hardware equivalents such as integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement oneor more aspects described herein, and such data structures arecontemplated within the scope of computer executable instructions andcomputer-usable data described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 2, one or more aspects described hereinmay be implemented in a remote-access environment. FIG. 2 depicts anexample system architecture including a computing device 201 in anillustrative computing environment 200 that may be used according to oneor more illustrative aspects described herein. Computing device 201 maybe used as a server 206 a in a single-server or multi-server desktopvirtualization system (e.g., a remote access or cloud system) and can beconfigured to provide virtual machines for client access devices. Thecomputing device 201 may have a processor 203 for controlling overalloperation of the device 201 and its associated components, including RAM205, ROM 207, Input/Output (I/O) module 209, and memory 215.

I/O module 209 may include a mouse, keypad, touch screen, scanner,optical reader, and/or stylus (or other input device(s)) through which auser of computing device 201 may provide input, and may also include oneor more of a speaker for providing audio output and one or more of avideo display device for providing textual, audiovisual, and/orgraphical output. Software may be stored within memory 215 and/or otherstorage to provide instructions to processor 203 for configuringcomputing device 201 into a special purpose computing device in order toperform various functions as described herein. For example, memory 215may store software used by the computing device 201, such as anoperating system 217, application programs 219, and an associateddatabase 221.

Computing device 201 may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 240 (alsoreferred to as client devices). The terminals 240 may be personalcomputers, mobile devices, laptop computers, tablets, or servers thatinclude many or all of the elements described above with respect to thecomputing device 103 or 201. The network connections depicted in FIG. 2include a local area network (LAN) 225 and a wide area network (WAN)229, but may also include other networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computing device 201 may be connected to the LAN 225through a network interface or adapter 223. When used in a WANnetworking environment, computing device 201 may include a modem orother wide area network interface 227 for establishing communicationsover the WAN 229, such as computer network 230 (e.g., the Internet). Itwill be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrativeand other means of establishing a communications link between thecomputers may be used. Computing device 201 and/or terminals 240 mayalso be mobile terminals (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), notebooks, etc.) including various othercomponents, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).

Aspects described herein may also be operational with numerous othergeneral purpose or special purpose computing system environments orconfigurations. Examples of other computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with aspectsdescribed herein include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, one or more client devices 240 may be incommunication with one or more servers 206 a-206 n (generally referredto herein as “server(s) 206”). In one embodiment, the computingenvironment 200 may include a network appliance installed between theserver(s) 206 and client machine(s) 240. The network appliance maymanage client/server connections, and in some cases can load balanceclient connections amongst a plurality of backend servers 206.

The client machine(s) 240 may in some embodiments be referred to as asingle client machine 240 or a single group of client machines 240,while server(s) 206 may be referred to as a single server 206 or asingle group of servers 206. In one embodiment a single client machine240 communicates with more than one server 206, while in anotherembodiment a single server 206 communicates with more than one clientmachine 240. In yet another embodiment, a single client machine 240communicates with a single server 206.

A client machine 240 can, in some embodiments, be referenced by any oneof the following non-exhaustive terms: client machine(s); client(s);client computer(s); client device(s); client computing device(s); localmachine; remote machine; client node(s); endpoint(s); or endpointnode(s). The server 206, in some embodiments, may be referenced by anyone of the following non-exhaustive terms: server(s), local machine;remote machine; server farm(s), or host computing device(s).

In one embodiment, the client machine 240 may be a virtual machine. Thevirtual machine may be any virtual machine, while in some embodimentsthe virtual machine may be any virtual machine managed by a Type 1 orType 2 hypervisor, for example, a hypervisor developed by CitrixSystems, IBM, VMware, or any other hypervisor. In some aspects, thevirtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor, while in other aspectsthe virtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor executing on a server206 or a hypervisor executing on a client 240.

Some embodiments include a client device 240 that displays applicationoutput generated by an application remotely executing on a server 206 orother remotely located machine. In these embodiments, the client device240 may execute a virtual machine client agent program or application todisplay the output in an application window, a browser, or other outputwindow. In one example, the application is a desktop, while in otherexamples the application is an application that generates or presents adesktop. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications, as used herein, areprograms that execute after an instance of an operating system (and,optionally, also the desktop) has been loaded.

The server 206, in some embodiments, uses a remote presentation protocolor other program to send data to a thin-client or remote-displayapplication executing on the client to present display output generatedby an application executing on the server 206. The thin-client orremote-display protocol can be any one of the following non-exhaustivelist of protocols: the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocoldeveloped by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; or the RemoteDesktop Protocol (RDP) manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

A remote computing environment may include more than one server 206a-206 n such that the servers 206 a-206 n are logically grouped togetherinto a server farm 206, for example, in a cloud computing environment.The server farm 206 may include servers 206 that are geographicallydispersed while logically grouped together, or servers 206 that arelocated proximate to each other while logically grouped together.Geographically dispersed servers 206 a-206 n within a server farm 206can, in some embodiments, communicate using a WAN (wide), MAN(metropolitan), or LAN (local), where different geographic regions canbe characterized as: different continents; different regions of acontinent; different countries; different states; different cities;different campuses; different rooms; or any combination of the precedinggeographical locations. In some embodiments the server farm 206 may beadministered as a single entity, while in other embodiments the serverfarm 206 can include multiple server farms.

In some embodiments, a server farm may include servers 206 that executea substantially similar type of operating system platform (e.g.,WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, iOS, ANDROID, SYMBIAN, etc.) In other embodiments,server farm 206 may include a first group of one or more servers thatexecute a first type of operating system platform, and a second group ofone or more servers that execute a second type of operating systemplatform.

Server 206 may be configured as any type of server, as needed, e.g., afile server, an application server, a web server, a proxy server, anappliance, a network appliance, a gateway, an application gateway, agateway server, a virtualization server, a deployment server, a SecureSockets Layer (SSL) VPN server, a firewall, a web server, an applicationserver or as a master application server, a server executing an activedirectory, or a server executing an application acceleration programthat provides firewall functionality, application functionality, or loadbalancing functionality. Other server types may also be used.

Some embodiments include a first server 206 a that receives requestsfrom a client machine 240, forwards the request to a second server 206 b(not shown), and responds to the request generated by the client machine240 with a response from the second server 206 b (not shown.) Firstserver 206 a may acquire an enumeration of applications available to theclient machine 240 as well as address information associated with anapplication server 206 hosting an application identified within theenumeration of applications. First server 206 a can then present aresponse to the client's request using a web interface, and communicatedirectly with the client 240 to provide the client 240 with access to anidentified application. One or more clients 240 and/or one or moreservers 206 may transmit data over network 230, e.g., network 101.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level architecture of an illustrative desktopvirtualization system. As shown, the desktop virtualization system maybe single-server or multi-server system, or cloud system, including atleast one virtualization server 301 configured to provide virtualdesktops and/or virtual applications to one or more client accessdevices 240. As used herein, a desktop refers to a graphical environmentor space in which one or more applications may be hosted and/orexecuted. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications may include programsthat execute after an instance of an operating system (and, optionally,also the desktop) has been loaded. Each instance of the operating systemmay be physical (e.g., one operating system per device) or virtual(e.g., many instances of an OS running on a single device). Eachapplication may be executed on a local device, or executed on a remotelylocated device (e.g., remoted).

A computer device 301 may be configured as a virtualization server in avirtualization environment, for example, a single-server, multi-server,or cloud computing environment. Virtualization server 301 illustrated inFIG. 3 can be deployed as and/or implemented by one or more embodimentsof the server 206 illustrated in FIG. 2 or by other known computingdevices. Included in virtualization server 301 is a hardware layer thatcan include one or more physical disks 304, one or more physical devices306, one or more physical processors 308, and one or more physicalmemories 316. In some embodiments, firmware 312 can be stored within amemory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed by one ormore of the physical processors 308. Virtualization server 301 mayfurther include an operating system 314 that may be stored in a memoryelement in the physical memory 316 and executed by one or more of thephysical processors 308. Still further, a hypervisor 302 may be storedin a memory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed byone or more of the physical processors 308.

Executing on one or more of the physical processors 308 may be one ormore virtual machines 332A-C (generally 332). Each virtual machine 332may have a virtual disk 326A-C and a virtual processor 328A-C. In someembodiments, a first virtual machine 332A may execute, using a virtualprocessor 328A, a control program 320 that includes a tools stack 324.Control program 320 may be referred to as a control virtual machine,Dom0, Domain 0, or other virtual machine used for system administrationand/or control. In some embodiments, one or more virtual machines 332B-Ccan execute, using a virtual processor 328B-C, a guest operating system330A-B.

Virtualization server 301 may include a hardware layer 310 with one ormore pieces of hardware that communicate with the virtualization server301. In some embodiments, the hardware layer 310 can include one or morephysical disks 304, one or more physical devices 306, one or morephysical processors 308, and one or more physical memory 316. Physicalcomponents 304, 306, 308, and 316 may include, for example, any of thecomponents described above. Physical devices 306 may include, forexample, a network interface card, a video card, a keyboard, a mouse, aninput device, a monitor, a display device, speakers, an optical drive, astorage device, a universal serial bus connection, a printer, a scanner,a network element (e.g., router, firewall, network address translator,load balancer, virtual private network (VPN) gateway, Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP) router, etc.), or any device connected toor communicating with virtualization server 301. Physical memory 316 inthe hardware layer 310 may include any type of memory. Physical memory316 may store data, and in some embodiments may store one or moreprograms, or set of executable instructions. FIG. 3 illustrates anembodiment where firmware 312 is stored within the physical memory 316of virtualization server 301. Programs or executable instructions storedin the physical memory 316 can be executed by the one or more processors308 of virtualization server 301.

Virtualization server 301 may also include a hypervisor 302. In someembodiments, hypervisor 302 may be a program executed by processors 308on virtualization server 301 to create and manage any number of virtualmachines 332. Hypervisor 302 may be referred to as a virtual machinemonitor, or platform virtualization software. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 can be any combination of executable instructions andhardware that monitors virtual machines executing on a computingmachine. Hypervisor 302 may be Type 2 hypervisor, where the hypervisorexecutes within an operating system 314 executing on the virtualizationserver 301. Virtual machines may then execute at a level above thehypervisor 302. In some embodiments, the Type 2 hypervisor may executewithin the context of a user's operating system such that the Type 2hypervisor interacts with the user's operating system. In otherembodiments, one or more virtualization servers 301 in a virtualizationenvironment may instead include a Type 1 hypervisor (not shown). A Type1 hypervisor may execute on the virtualization server 301 by directlyaccessing the hardware and resources within the hardware layer 310. Thatis, while a Type 2 hypervisor 302 accesses system resources through ahost operating system 314, as shown, a Type 1 hypervisor may directlyaccess all system resources without the host operating system 314. AType 1 hypervisor may execute directly on one or more physicalprocessors 308 of virtualization server 301, and may include programdata stored in the physical memory 316.

Hypervisor 302, in some embodiments, can provide virtual resources tooperating systems 330 or control programs 320 executing on virtualmachines 332 in any manner that simulates the operating systems 330 orcontrol programs 320 having direct access to system resources. Systemresources can include, but are not limited to, physical devices 306,physical disks 304, physical processors 308, physical memory 316, andany other component included in hardware layer 310 of the virtualizationserver 301. Hypervisor 302 may be used to emulate virtual hardware,partition physical hardware, virtualize physical hardware, and/orexecute virtual machines that provide access to computing environments.In still other embodiments, hypervisor 302 may control processorscheduling and memory partitioning for a virtual machine 332 executingon virtualization server 301. Hypervisor 302 may include thosemanufactured by VMWare, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.; the XENPROJECThypervisor, an open source product whose development is overseen by theopen source XenProject.org community; HyperV, VirtualServer or virtualPC hypervisors provided by Microsoft, or others. In some embodiments,virtualization server 301 may execute a hypervisor 302 that creates avirtual machine platform on which guest operating systems may execute.In these embodiments, the virtualization server 301 may be referred toas a host server. An example of such a virtualization server is theXENSERVER provided by Citrix Systems, Inc., of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Hypervisor 302 may create one or more virtual machines 332B-C (generally332) in which guest operating systems 330 execute. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 may load a virtual machine image to create a virtualmachine 332. In other embodiments, the hypervisor 302 may execute aguest operating system 330 within virtual machine 332. In still otherembodiments, virtual machine 332 may execute guest operating system 330.

In addition to creating virtual machines 332, hypervisor 302 may controlthe execution of at least one virtual machine 332. In other embodiments,hypervisor 302 may present at least one virtual machine 332 with anabstraction of at least one hardware resource provided by thevirtualization server 301 (e.g., any hardware resource available withinthe hardware layer 310). In other embodiments, hypervisor 302 maycontrol the manner in which virtual machines 332 access physicalprocessors 308 available in virtualization server 301. Controllingaccess to physical processors 308 may include determining whether avirtual machine 332 should have access to a processor 308, and howphysical processor capabilities are presented to the virtual machine332.

As shown in FIG. 3, virtualization server 301 may host or execute one ormore virtual machines 332. A virtual machine 332 is a set of executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor 308, may imitate theoperation of a physical computer such that the virtual machine 332 canexecute programs and processes much like a physical computing device.While FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment where a virtualization server 301hosts three virtual machines 332, in other embodiments virtualizationserver 301 can host any number of virtual machines 332. Hypervisor 302,in some embodiments, may provide each virtual machine 332 with a uniquevirtual view of the physical hardware, memory, processor, and othersystem resources available to that virtual machine 332. In someembodiments, the unique virtual view can be based on one or more ofvirtual machine permissions, application of a policy engine to one ormore virtual machine identifiers, a user accessing a virtual machine,the applications executing on a virtual machine, networks accessed by avirtual machine, or any other desired criteria. For instance, hypervisor302 may create one or more unsecure virtual machines 332 and one or moresecure virtual machines 332. Unsecure virtual machines 332 may beprevented from accessing resources, hardware, memory locations, andprograms that secure virtual machines 332 may be permitted to access. Inother embodiments, hypervisor 302 may provide each virtual machine 332with a substantially similar virtual view of the physical hardware,memory, processor, and other system resources available to the virtualmachines 332.

Each virtual machine 332 may include a virtual disk 326A-C (generally326) and a virtual processor 328A-C (generally 328.) The virtual disk326, in some embodiments, is a virtualized view of one or more physicaldisks 304 of the virtualization server 301, or a portion of one or morephysical disks 304 of the virtualization server 301. The virtualizedview of the physical disks 304 can be generated, provided, and managedby the hypervisor 302. In some embodiments, hypervisor 302 provides eachvirtual machine 332 with a unique view of the physical disks 304. Thus,in these embodiments, the particular virtual disk 326 included in eachvirtual machine 332 can be unique when compared with the other virtualdisks 326.

A virtual processor 328 can be a virtualized view of one or morephysical processors 308 of the virtualization server 301. In someembodiments, the virtualized view of the physical processors 308 can begenerated, provided, and managed by hypervisor 302. In some embodiments,virtual processor 328 has substantially all of the same characteristicsof at least one physical processor 308. In other embodiments, virtualprocessor 308 provides a modified view of physical processors 308 suchthat at least some of the characteristics of the virtual processor 328are different than the characteristics of the corresponding physicalprocessor 308.

With further reference to FIG. 4, some aspects described herein may beimplemented in a cloud-based environment. FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof a cloud computing environment (or cloud system) 400. As seen in FIG.4, client computers 411-414 may communicate with a cloud managementserver 410 to access the computing resources (e.g., host servers 403a-403 b (generally referred herein as “host servers 403”), storageresources 404 a-404 b (generally referred herein as “storage resources404”), and network elements 405 a-405 b (generally referred herein as“network resources 405”)) of the cloud system.

Management server 410 may be implemented on one or more physicalservers. The management server 410 may run, for example, CLOUDPLATFORMby Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., or OPENSTACK, amongothers. Management server 410 may manage various computing resources,including cloud hardware and software resources, for example, hostcomputers 403, data storage devices 404, and networking devices 405. Thecloud hardware and software resources may include private and/or publiccomponents. For example, a cloud may be configured as a private cloud tobe used by one or more particular customers or client computers 411-414and/or over a private network. In other embodiments, public clouds orhybrid public-private clouds may be used by other customers over an openor hybrid networks.

Management server 410 may be configured to provide user interfacesthrough which cloud operators and cloud customers may interact with thecloud system 400. For example, the management server 410 may provide aset of application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or one or morecloud operator console applications (e.g., web-based or standaloneapplications) with user interfaces to allow cloud operators to managethe cloud resources, configure the virtualization layer, manage customeraccounts, and perform other cloud administration tasks. The managementserver 410 also may include a set of APIs and/or one or more customerconsole applications with user interfaces configured to receive cloudcomputing requests from end users via client computers 411-414, forexample, requests to create, modify, or destroy virtual machines withinthe cloud. Client computers 411-414 may connect to management server 410via the Internet or some other communication network, and may requestaccess to one or more of the computing resources managed by managementserver 410. In response to client requests, the management server 410may include a resource manager configured to select and provisionphysical resources in the hardware layer of the cloud system based onthe client requests. For example, the management server 410 andadditional components of the cloud system may be configured toprovision, create, and manage virtual machines and their operatingenvironments (e.g., hypervisors, storage resources, services offered bythe network elements, etc.) for customers at client computers 411-414,over a network (e.g., the Internet), providing customers withcomputational resources, data storage services, networking capabilities,and computer platform and application support. Cloud systems also may beconfigured to provide various specific services, including securitysystems, development environments, user interfaces, and the like.

Certain clients 411-414 may be related, for example, to different clientcomputers creating virtual machines on behalf of the same end user, ordifferent users affiliated with the same company or organization. Inother examples, certain clients 411-414 may be unrelated, such as usersaffiliated with different companies or organizations. For unrelatedclients, information on the virtual machines or storage of any one usermay be hidden from other users.

Referring now to the physical hardware layer of a cloud computingenvironment, availability zones 401-402 (or zones) may refer to acollocated set of physical computing resources. Zones may begeographically separated from other zones in the overall cloud ofcomputing resources. For example, zone 401 may be a first clouddatacenter located in California, and zone 402 may be a second clouddatacenter located in Florida. Management server 410 may be located atone of the availability zones, or at a separate location. Each zone mayinclude an internal network that interfaces with devices that areoutside of the zone, such as the management server 410, through agateway. End users of the cloud (e.g., clients 411-414) might or mightnot be aware of the distinctions between zones. For example, an end usermay request the creation of a virtual machine having a specified amountof memory, processing power, and network capabilities. The managementserver 410 may respond to the user's request and may allocate theresources to create the virtual machine without the user knowing whetherthe virtual machine was created using resources from zone 401 or zone402. In other examples, the cloud system may allow end users to requestthat virtual machines (or other cloud resources) are allocated in aspecific zone or on specific resources 403-405 within a zone.

In this example, each zone 401-402 may include an arrangement of variousphysical hardware components (or computing resources) 403-405, forexample, physical hosting resources (or processing resources), physicalnetwork resources, physical storage resources, switches, and additionalhardware resources that may be used to provide cloud computing servicesto customers. The physical hosting resources in a cloud zone 401-402 mayinclude one or more computer servers 403, such as the virtualizationservers 301 described above, which may be configured to create and hostvirtual machine instances. The physical network resources in a cloudzone 401 or 402 may include one or more network elements 405 (e.g.,network service providers) comprising hardware and/or softwareconfigured to provide a network service to cloud customers, such asfirewalls, network address translators, load balancers, virtual privatenetwork (VPN) gateways, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)routers, and the like. The storage resources in the cloud zone 401-402may include storage disks (e.g., solid state drives (SSDs), magnetichard disks, etc.) and other storage devices.

The example cloud computing environment shown in FIG. 4 also may includea virtualization layer (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1-3) with additionalhardware and/or software resources configured to create and managevirtual machines and provide other services to customers using thephysical resources in the cloud. The virtualization layer may includehypervisors, as described above in FIG. 3, along with other componentsto provide network virtualizations, storage virtualizations, etc. Thevirtualization layer may be as a separate layer from the physicalresource layer, or may share some or all of the same hardware and/orsoftware resources with the physical resource layer. For example, thevirtualization layer may include a hypervisor installed in each of thevirtualization servers 403 with the physical computing resources. Knowncloud systems may alternatively be used, e.g., WINDOWS AZURE (MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond Wash.), AMAZON EC2 (Amazon.com Inc. of Seattle,Wash.), IBM BLUE CLOUD (IBM Corporation of Armonk, N.Y.), or others.

Enterprise Mobility Management Architecture

FIG. 5 represents an enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 foruse in a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) environment. The architectureenables a user of a mobile device 502 to both access enterprise orpersonal resources from a mobile device 502 and use the mobile device502 for personal use. The user may access such enterprise resources 504or enterprise services 508 using a mobile device 502 that is purchasedby the user or a mobile device 502 that is provided by the enterprise tothe user. The user may utilize the mobile device 502 for business useonly or for business and personal use. The mobile device 502 may run aniOS operating system, an Android operating system, or the like. Theenterprise may choose to implement policies to manage the mobile device502. The policies may be implemented through a firewall or gateway insuch a way that the mobile device 502 may be identified, secured orsecurity verified, and provided selective or full access to theenterprise resources (e.g., 504 and 508.) The policies may be mobiledevice management policies, mobile application management policies,mobile data management policies, or some combination of mobile device,application, and data management policies. A mobile device 502 that ismanaged through the application of mobile device management policies maybe referred to as an enrolled device.

In some embodiments, the operating system of the mobile device 502 maybe separated into a managed partition 510 and an unmanaged partition512. The managed partition 510 may have policies applied to it to securethe applications running on and data stored in the managed partition510. The applications running on the managed partition 510 may be secureapplications. In other embodiments, all applications may execute inaccordance with a set of one or more policy files received separate fromthe application, and which define one or more security parameters,features, resource restrictions, and/or other access controls that areenforced by the mobile device management system when that application isexecuting on the mobile device 502. By operating in accordance withtheir respective policy file(s), each application may be allowed orrestricted from communications with one or more other applicationsand/or resources, thereby creating a virtual partition. Thus, as usedherein, a partition may refer to a physically partitioned portion ofmemory (physical partition), a logically partitioned portion of memory(logical partition), and/or a virtual partition created as a result ofenforcement of one or more policies and/or policy files across multipleapplications as described herein (virtual partition). Stateddifferently, by enforcing policies on managed applications, thoseapplications may be restricted to only be able to communicate with othermanaged applications and trusted enterprise resources, thereby creatinga virtual partition that is not accessible by unmanaged applications anddevices.

The secure applications may be email applications, web browsingapplications, software-as-a-service (SaaS) access applications, WindowsApplication access applications, and the like. The secure applicationsmay be secure native applications 514, secure remote applications 522executed by a secure application launcher 518, virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518, and thelike. The secure native applications 514 may be wrapped by a secureapplication wrapper 520. The secure application wrapper 520 may includeintegrated policies that are executed on the mobile device 502 when thesecure native application 514 is executed on the mobile device 502. Thesecure application wrapper 520 may include meta-data that points thesecure native application 514 running on the mobile device 502 to theresources hosted at the enterprise (e.g., 504 and 508) that the securenative application 514 may require to complete the task requested uponexecution of the secure native application 514. The secure remoteapplications 522 executed by a secure application launcher 518 may beexecuted within the secure application launcher 518. The virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayutilize resources on the mobile device 502, at the enterprise resources504, and the like. The resources used on the mobile device 502 by thevirtualization applications 526 executed by a secure applicationlauncher 518 may include user interaction resources, processingresources, and the like. The user interaction resources may be used tocollect and transmit keyboard input, mouse input, camera input, tactileinput, audio input, visual input, gesture input, and the like. Theprocessing resources may be used to present a user interface, processdata received from the enterprise resources 504, and the like. Theresources used at the enterprise resources 504 by the virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayinclude user interface generation resources, processing resources, andthe like. The user interface generation resources may be used toassemble a user interface, modify a user interface, refresh a userinterface, and the like. The processing resources may be used to createinformation, read information, update information, delete information,and the like. For example, the virtualization application 526 may recorduser interactions associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) andcommunicate them to a server application where the server applicationwill use the user interaction data as an input to the applicationoperating on the server. In such an arrangement, an enterprise may electto maintain the application on the server side as well as data, files,etc. associated with the application. While an enterprise may elect to“mobilize” some applications in accordance with the principles herein bysecuring them for deployment on the mobile device 502, this arrangementmay also be elected for certain applications. For example, while someapplications may be secured for use on the mobile device 502, othersmight not be prepared or appropriate for deployment on the mobile device502 so the enterprise may elect to provide the mobile user access to theunprepared applications through virtualization techniques. As anotherexample, the enterprise may have large complex applications with largeand complex data sets (e.g., material resource planning applications)where it would be very difficult, or otherwise undesirable, to customizethe application for the mobile device 502 so the enterprise may elect toprovide access to the application through virtualization techniques. Asyet another example, the enterprise may have an application thatmaintains highly secured data (e.g., human resources data, customerdata, engineering data) that may be deemed by the enterprise as toosensitive for even the secured mobile environment so the enterprise mayelect to use virtualization techniques to permit mobile access to suchapplications and data. An enterprise may elect to provide both fullysecured and fully functional applications on the mobile device 502 aswell as a virtualization application 526 to allow access to applicationsthat are deemed more properly operated on the server side. In anembodiment, the virtualization application 526 may store some data,files, etc. on the mobile device 502 in one of the secure storagelocations. An enterprise, for example, may elect to allow certaininformation to be stored on the mobile device 502 while not permittingother information.

In connection with the virtualization application 526, as describedherein, the mobile device 502 may have a virtualization application 526that is designed to present GUIs and then record user interactions withthe GUI. The virtualization application 526 may communicate the userinteractions to the server side to be used by the server sideapplication as user interactions with the application. In response, theapplication on the server side may transmit back to the mobile device502 a new GUI. For example, the new GUI may be a static page, a dynamicpage, an animation, or the like, thereby providing access to remotelylocated resources.

The secure applications 514 may access data stored in a secure datacontainer 528 in the managed partition 510 of the mobile device 502. Thedata secured in the secure data container may be accessed by the securenative applications 514, secure remote applications 522 executed by asecure application launcher 518, virtualization applications 526executed by a secure application launcher 518, and the like. The datastored in the secure data container 528 may include files, databases,and the like. The data stored in the secure data container 528 mayinclude data restricted to a specific secure application 530, sharedamong secure applications 532, and the like. Data restricted to a secureapplication may include secure general data 534 and highly secure data538. Secure general data may use a strong form of encryption such asAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption or the like, whilehighly secure data 538 may use a very strong form of encryption such asAES 256-bit encryption. Data stored in the secure data container 528 maybe deleted from the mobile device 502 upon receipt of a command from thedevice manager 524. The secure applications (e.g., 514, 522, and 526)may have a dual-mode option 540. The dual mode option 540 may presentthe user with an option to operate the secured application in anunsecured or unmanaged mode. In an unsecured or unmanaged mode, thesecure applications may access data stored in an unsecured datacontainer 542 on the unmanaged partition 512 of the mobile device 502.The data stored in an unsecured data container may be personal data 544.The data stored in an unsecured data container 542 may also be accessedby unsecured applications 546 that are running on the unmanagedpartition 512 of the mobile device 502. The data stored in an unsecureddata container 542 may remain on the mobile device 502 when the datastored in the secure data container 528 is deleted from the mobiledevice 502. An enterprise may want to delete from the mobile device 502selected or all data, files, and/or applications owned, licensed orcontrolled by the enterprise (enterprise data) while leaving orotherwise preserving personal data, files, and/or applications owned,licensed or controlled by the user (personal data). This operation maybe referred to as a selective wipe. With the enterprise and personaldata arranged in accordance to the aspects described herein, anenterprise may perform a selective wipe.

The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources 504 andenterprise services 508 at an enterprise, to the public Internet 548,and the like. The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources504 and enterprise services 508 through virtual private networkconnections. The virtual private network connections, also referred toas microVPN or application-specific VPN, may be specific to particularapplications (as illustrated by microVPNs 550, particular devices,particular secured areas on the mobile device (as illustrated by O/S VPN552), and the like. For example, each of the wrapped applications in thesecured area of the mobile device 502 may access enterprise resourcesthrough an application specific VPN such that access to the VPN would begranted based on attributes associated with the application, possibly inconjunction with user or device attribute information. The virtualprivate network connections may carry Microsoft Exchange traffic,Microsoft Active Directory traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) traffic, applicationmanagement traffic, and the like. The virtual private networkconnections may support and enable single-sign-on authenticationprocesses 554. The single-sign-on processes may allow a user to providea single set of authentication credentials, which are then verified byan authentication service 558. The authentication service 558 may thengrant to the user access to multiple enterprise resources 504, withoutrequiring the user to provide authentication credentials to eachindividual enterprise resource 504.

The virtual private network connections may be established and managedby an access gateway 560. The access gateway 560 may include performanceenhancement features that manage, accelerate, and improve the deliveryof enterprise resources 504 to the mobile device 502. The access gateway560 may also re-route traffic from the mobile device 502 to the publicInternet 548, enabling the mobile device 502 to access publiclyavailable and unsecured applications that run on the public Internet548. The mobile device 502 may connect to the access gateway via atransport network 562. The transport network 562 may use one or moretransport protocols and may be a wired network, wireless network, cloudnetwork, local area network, metropolitan area network, wide areanetwork, public network, private network, and the like.

The enterprise resources 504 may include email servers, file sharingservers, SaaS applications, Web application servers, Windows applicationservers, and the like. Email servers may include Exchange servers, LotusNotes servers, and the like. File sharing servers may include ShareFileservers, and the like. SaaS applications may include Salesforce, and thelike. Windows application servers may include any application serverthat is built to provide applications that are intended to run on alocal Windows operating system, and the like. The enterprise resources504 may be premise-based resources, cloud-based resources, and the like.The enterprise resources 504 may be accessed by the mobile device 502directly or through the access gateway 560. The enterprise resources 504may be accessed by the mobile device 502 via the transport network 562.

The enterprise services 508 may include authentication services 558,threat detection services 564, device manager services 524, file sharingservices 568, policy manager services 570, social integration services572, application controller services 574, and the like. Authenticationservices 558 may include user authentication services, deviceauthentication services, application authentication services, dataauthentication services, and the like. Authentication services 558 mayuse certificates. The certificates may be stored on the mobile device502, by the enterprise resources 504, and the like. The certificatesstored on the mobile device 502 may be stored in an encrypted locationon the mobile device 502, the certificate may be temporarily stored onthe mobile device 502 for use at the time of authentication, and thelike. Threat detection services 564 may include intrusion detectionservices, unauthorized access attempt detection services, and the like.Unauthorized access attempt detection services may include unauthorizedattempts to access devices, applications, data, and the like. Devicemanagement services 524 may include configuration, provisioning,security, support, monitoring, reporting, and decommissioning services.File sharing services 568 may include file management services, filestorage services, file collaboration services, and the like. Policymanager services 570 may include device policy manager services,application policy manager services, data policy manager services, andthe like. Social integration services 572 may include contactintegration services, collaboration services, integration with socialnetworks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the like.Application controller services 574 may include management services,provisioning services, deployment services, assignment services,revocation services, wrapping services, and the like.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include anapplication store 578. The application store 578 may include unwrappedapplications 580, pre-wrapped applications 582, and the like.Applications may be populated in the application store 578 from theapplication controller 574. The application store 578 may be accessed bythe mobile device 502 through the access gateway 560, through the publicInternet 548, or the like. The application store 578 may be providedwith an intuitive and easy to use user interface.

A software development kit 584 may provide a user the capability tosecure applications selected by the user by wrapping the application asdescribed previously in this description. An application that has beenwrapped using the software development kit 584 may then be madeavailable to the mobile device 502 by populating it in the applicationstore 578 using the application controller 574.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include amanagement and analytics capability 588. The management and analyticscapability 588 may provide information related to how resources areused, how often resources are used, and the like. Resources may includedevices, applications, data, and the like. How resources are used mayinclude which devices download which applications, which applicationsaccess which data, and the like. How often resources are used mayinclude how often an application has been downloaded, how many times aspecific set of data has been accessed by an application, and the like.

FIG. 6 is another illustrative enterprise mobility management system600. Some of the components of the mobility management system 500described above with reference to FIG. 5 have been omitted for the sakeof simplicity. The architecture of the system 600 depicted in FIG. 6 issimilar in many respects to the architecture of the system 500 describedabove with reference to FIG. 5 and may include additional features notmentioned above.

In this case, the left hand side represents an enrolled mobile device602 with a client agent 604, which interacts with gateway server 606(which includes Access Gateway and application controller functionality)to access various enterprise resources 608 and services 609 such asExchange, Sharepoint, public-key infrastructure (PKI) Resources,Kerberos Resources, Certificate Issuance service, as shown on the righthand side above. Although not specifically shown, the mobile device 602may also interact with an enterprise application store (StoreFront) forthe selection and downloading of applications.

The client agent 604 acts as the UI (user interface) intermediary forWindows apps/desktops hosted in an Enterprise data center, which areaccessed using the High-Definition User Experience (HDX)/ICA displayremoting protocol. The client agent 604 also supports the installationand management of native applications on the mobile device 602, such asnative iOS or Android applications. For example, the managedapplications 610 (mail, browser, wrapped application) shown in thefigure above are all native applications that execute locally on themobile device 602. Client agent 604 and application management frameworkof this architecture act to provide policy driven managementcapabilities and features such as connectivity and SSO (single sign on)to enterprise resources/services 608. The client agent 604 handlesprimary user authentication to the enterprise, normally to AccessGateway (AG) 606 with SSO to other gateway server components. The clientagent 604 obtains policies from gateway server 606 to control thebehavior of the managed applications 610 on the mobile device 602.

The Secure InterProcess Communication (IPC) links 612 between the nativeapplications 610 and client agent 604 represent a management channel,which may allow a client agent to supply policies to be enforced by theapplication management framework 614 “wrapping” each application. TheIPC channel 612 may also allow client agent 604 to supply credential andauthentication information that enables connectivity and SSO toenterprise resources 608. Finally, the IPC channel 612 may allow theapplication management framework 614 to invoke user interface functionsimplemented by client agent 604, such as online and offlineauthentication.

Communications between the client agent 604 and gateway server 606 areessentially an extension of the management channel from the applicationmanagement framework 614 wrapping each native managed application 610.The application management framework 614 may request policy informationfrom client agent 604, which in turn may request it from gateway server606. The application management framework 614 may requestauthentication, and client agent 604 may log into the gateway servicespart of gateway server 606 (also known as NETSCALER ACCESS GATEWAY).Client agent 604 may also call supporting services on gateway server606, which may produce input material to derive encryption keys for thelocal data vaults 616, or may provide client certificates which mayenable direct authentication to PM protected resources, as more fullyexplained below.

In more detail, the application management framework 614 “wraps” eachmanaged application 610. This may be incorporated via an explicit buildstep, or via a post-build processing step. The application managementframework 614 may “pair” with client agent 604 on first launch of anapplication 610 to initialize the Secure IPC channel 612 and obtain thepolicy for that application. The application management framework 614may enforce relevant portions of the policy that apply locally, such asthe client agent login dependencies and some of the containment policiesthat restrict how local OS services may be used, or how they mayinteract with the managed application 610.

The application management framework 614 may use services provided byclient agent 604 over the Secure IPC channel 612 to facilitateauthentication and internal network access. Key management for theprivate and shared data vaults 616 (containers) may be also managed byappropriate interactions between the managed applications 610 and clientagent 604. Vaults 616 may be available only after online authentication,or may be made available after offline authentication if allowed bypolicy. First use of vaults 616 may require online authentication, andoffline access may be limited to at most the policy refresh periodbefore online authentication is again required.

Network access to internal resources may occur directly from individualmanaged applications 610 through Access Gateway 606. The applicationmanagement framework 614 may be responsible for orchestrating thenetwork access on behalf of each managed application 610. Client agent604 may facilitate these network connections by providing suitable timelimited secondary credentials obtained following online authentication.Multiple modes of network connection may be used, such as reverse webproxy connections and end-to-end VPN-style tunnels 618.

The Mail and Browser managed applications 610 have special status andmay make use of facilities that might not be generally available toarbitrary wrapped applications. For example, the Mail application 610may use a special background network access mechanism that allows it toaccess an Exchange server 608 over an extended period of time withoutrequiring a full AG logon. The Browser application 610 may use multipleprivate data vaults 616 to segregate different kinds of data.

This architecture may support the incorporation of various othersecurity features. For example, gateway server 606 (including itsgateway services) in some cases may not need to validate activedirectory (AD) passwords. It can be left to the discretion of anenterprise whether an AD password may be used as an authenticationfactor for some users in some situations. Different authenticationmethods may be used if a user is online or offline (e.g., connected ornot connected to a network).

Step up authentication is a feature wherein gateway server 606 mayidentify managed native applications 610 that are allowed to have accessto highly classified data requiring strong authentication, and ensurethat access to these applications is only permitted after performingappropriate authentication, even if this means a re-authentication isrequired by the user after a prior weaker level of login.

Another security feature of this solution is the encryption of the datavaults 616 (containers) on the mobile device 602. The vaults 616 may beencrypted so that all on-device data including files, databases, andconfigurations are protected. For on-line vaults, the keys may be storedon the server (gateway server 606), and for off-line vaults, a localcopy of the keys may be protected by a user password or biometricvalidation. If or when data is stored locally on the mobile device 602in the secure container 616, it may be preferred that a minimum of AES256 encryption algorithm be utilized.

Other secure container features may also be implemented. For example, alogging feature may be included, wherein security events happeninginside a managed application 610 may be logged and reported to thebackend. Data wiping may be supported, such as if or when the managedapplication 610 detects tampering, associated encryption keys may bewritten over with random data, leaving no hint on the file system thatuser data was destroyed. Screenshot protection may be another feature,where an application may prevent any data from being stored inscreenshots. For example, the key window's hidden property may be set toYES. This may cause whatever content is currently displayed on thescreen to be hidden, resulting in a blank screenshot where any contentwould normally reside.

Local data transfer may be prevented, such as by preventing any datafrom being locally transferred outside the application container, e.g.,by copying it or sending it to an external application. A keyboard cachefeature may operate to disable the autocorrect functionality forsensitive text fields. SSL certificate validation may be operable so theapplication specifically validates the server SSL certificate instead ofit being stored in the keychain. An encryption key generation featuremay be used such that the key used to encrypt data on the mobile device602 is generated using a passphrase or biometric data supplied by theuser (if offline access is required). It may be XORed with another keyrandomly generated and stored on the server side if offline access isnot required. Key Derivation functions may operate such that keysgenerated from the user password use KDFs (key derivation functions,notably Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2)) rather thancreating a cryptographic hash of it. The latter makes a key susceptibleto brute force or dictionary attacks.

Further, one or more initialization vectors may be used in encryptionmethods. An initialization vector will cause multiple copies of the sameencrypted data to yield different cipher text output, preventing bothreplay and cryptanalytic attacks. This will also prevent an attackerfrom decrypting any data even with a stolen encryption key. Further,authentication then decryption may be used, wherein application data isdecrypted only after the user has authenticated within the application.Another feature may relate to sensitive data in memory, which may bekept in memory (and not in disk) only when it's needed. For example,login credentials may be wiped from memory after login, and encryptionkeys and other data inside objective-C instance variables are notstored, as they may be easily referenced. Instead, memory may bemanually allocated for these.

An inactivity timeout may be implemented, wherein after a policy-definedperiod of inactivity, a user session is terminated.

Data leakage from the application management framework 614 may beprevented in other ways. For example, if or when a managed application610 is put in the background, the memory may be cleared after apredetermined (configurable) time period. When backgrounded, a snapshotmay be taken of the last displayed screen of the application to fastenthe foregrounding process. The screenshot may contain confidential dataand hence should be cleared.

Another security feature may relate to the use of an OTP (one timepassword) 620 without the use of an AD (active directory) 622 passwordfor access to one or more applications. In some cases, some users do notknow (or are not permitted to know) their AD password, so these usersmay authenticate using an OTP 620 such as by using a hardware OTP systemlike SecurID (OTPs may be provided by different vendors also, such asEntrust or Gemalto). In some cases, after a user authenticates with auser ID, a text may be sent to the user with an OTP 620. In some cases,this may be implemented only for online use, with a prompt being asingle field.

An offline password may be implemented for offline authentication forthose managed applications 610 for which offline use is permitted viaenterprise policy. For example, an enterprise may want StoreFront to beaccessed in this manner In this case, the client agent 604 may requirethe user to set a custom offline password and the AD password is notused. Gateway server 606 may provide policies to control and enforcepassword standards with respect to the minimum length, character classcomposition, and age of passwords, such as described by the standardWindows Server password complexity requirements, although theserequirements may be modified.

Another feature may relate to the enablement of a client sidecertificate for certain applications 610 as secondary credentials (forthe purpose of accessing PM protected web resources via the applicationmanagement framework micro VPN feature). For example, a managedapplication 610 may utilize such a certificate. In this case,certificate-based authentication using ActiveSync protocol may besupported, wherein a certificate from the client agent 604 may beretrieved by gateway server 606 and used in a keychain. Each managedapplication 610 may have one associated client certificate, identifiedby a label that is defined in gateway server 606.

Gateway server 606 may interact with an enterprise special purpose webservice to support the issuance of client certificates to allow relevantmanaged applications to authenticate to internal PKI protectedresources.

The client agent 604 and the application management framework 614 may beenhanced to support obtaining and using client certificates forauthentication to internal PM protected network resources. More than onecertificate may be supported, such as to match various levels ofsecurity and/or separation requirements. The certificates may be used bythe Mail and Browser managed applications 610, and ultimately byarbitrary wrapped applications 610 (provided those applications use webservice style communication patterns where it is reasonable for theapplication management framework to mediate HTTPS requests).

Application management client certificate support on iOS may rely onimporting a public-key cryptography standards (PKCS) 12 BLOB (BinaryLarge Object) into the iOS keychain in each managed application 610 foreach period of use. Application management framework client certificatesupport may use a HTTPS implementation with private in-memory keystorage. The client certificate may not be present in the iOS keychainand may not be persisted except potentially in “online-only” data valuethat is strongly protected.

Mutual SSL or TLS may also be implemented to provide additional securityby requiring that a mobile device 602 is authenticated to theenterprise, and vice versa. Virtual smart cards for authentication togateway server 606 may also be implemented.

Both limited and full Kerberos support may be additional features. Thefull support feature relates to an ability to do full Kerberos login toActive Directory (AD) 622, using an AD password or trusted clientcertificate, and obtain Kerberos service tickets to respond to HTTPNegotiate authentication challenges. The limited support feature relatesto constrained delegation in Citrix Access Gateway Enterprise Edition(AGEE), where AGEE supports invoking Kerberos protocol transition so itcan obtain and use Kerberos service tickets (subject to constraineddelegation) in response to HTTP Negotiate authentication challenges.This mechanism works in reverse web proxy (aka corporate virtual privatenetwork (CVPN)) mode, and when HTTP (but not HTTPS) connections areproxied in VPN and MicroVPN mode.

Another feature may relate to application container locking and wiping,which may automatically occur upon jail-break or rooting detections, andoccur as a pushed command from administration console, and may include aremote wipe functionality even when a managed application 610 is notrunning.

A multi-site architecture or configuration of enterprise applicationstore and an application controller may be supported that allows usersto be serviced from one of several different locations in case offailure.

In some cases, managed applications 610 may be allowed to access acertificate and private key via an API (for example, OpenSSL). Trustedmanaged applications 610 of an enterprise may be allowed to performspecific Public Key operations with an application's client certificateand private key. Various use cases may be identified and treatedaccordingly, such as if or when an application behaves like a browserand no certificate access is required, if or when an application reads acertificate for “who am I,” if or when an application uses thecertificate to build a secure session token, and if or when anapplication uses private keys for digital signing of important data(e.g., transaction log) or for temporary data encryption.

Mobile Auditable and Tamper-Resistant Customer Usage Reports

One or more service providers (e.g., a software as a service (SaaS)provider) may enforce licenses. The service provider may monitor actualusage of a service by a user, and then produce licensing reports thatare displayed to a user to show their usage. For a mobile device user,it may be difficult to verify whether the service licensing report isaccurate. Unlike physical utilities (e.g., water, gas), it may bedifficult for a customer to consider exactly how much of the service thecustomer has used in the last reporting period. The user might have adifficult time verifying whether the service provider is providing anaccurate report of the user's usage of the service. Even if the usagereport shows individual names and times of events, the sheer exponentialincrease in data usage may mean that it is not possible for a human userto validate the usage report.

A blockchain may be used privately, publicly, or in a hybrid fashion.For example, a private blockchain may be used in the shipping industryto record shipments and transactions. Blockchain technology may allowrecording transactions, for multiple parties that don't necessarilytrust each other, in a secure and transparent manner that may beaudited. In other words, a blockchain may provide a tamper-proof ledgerof who did what when.

In some embodiments, a distributed database, such as a distributedledger or a blockchain, may be used for mobile licensing. Specifically,a mobile licensing blockchain may allow recording usage events for oneor more different users in a secure and transparent manner that may beaudited (e.g., by a trusted device of the user).

A distributed database, such as a blockchain, may include a series oflinked blocks (e.g., a linked list), with one or more transactionsattached to each block. FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative flow diagram ofsteps that a distributed database may use for processing transactions.

In step 702, a computing device may receive a transaction request. Instep 704, the computing device may broadcast the transaction request toa network of devices participating in the distributed database. In step706, the computing device may validate the transaction request. In step708, the verified transaction may be combined with other transactions.In step 710, the verified transaction that is combined with the othertransactions may be added to the distributed ledger in a new block.

A new block may be created using one or more various mechanisms. Forexample, one mechanism may be referred to as “proof of work,” and mayinclude an intensive computer calculation (e.g., mining) in order tocreate a block.

Another mechanism may include “proof of stake.” A proof-of-stakemechanism may be based on some type of digital unit of value (e.g.,currency, digital coin), and may require that a miner deposit this unitof value as the equivalent of collateral. These units of value may beforfeited if the miner becomes a bad actor (e.g., a forger). Aproof-of-stake mechanism may allow a miner to earn more units of value(e.g., more currency, more coins) from taxing the transactions attachedto the blocks that miner creates.

Another mechanism may include “one-account-one-vote.”

At step 712, the transaction is complete.

FIGS. 8A and 8B (collectively, FIG. 8) depict illustrative flow diagramsof a process for applying blockchain technology to improve thetransparency of mobile licensing and trust of the user in the accuracyof the system. FIG. 8A depicts a flowchart, while FIG. 8B depicts asystem flow diagram of the same process.

One or more devices or elements may be a part of the process describedin connection with FIG. 8.

An entity may include client-side software running in, for example, aVirtual Delivery Agent (VDA), mobile device, desktop, and/or the like.An entity may belong to a customer. An entity may have an identity onthe blockchain. An entity might not do any validation. An entity mightnot create blocks, and might not have a copy of the blockchain. Theentity may emit usage events, and/or may create pending transactions.

A validator node (e.g., a customer node, a peer node) may includeserver-side software running, for example, in a customer's data center.A validator node may be controlled by the customer. A validator nodemight not emit usage events. A validator node may perform validation.One or more usage events may be sent to a validator node. A validatornode may create new blocks (e.g., when a customer purchases or otherwiseobtains a license). A validator node may have a full copy of theblockchain.

An aggregator may include a special node in a peer-to-peer blockchainsystem. An aggregator may be maintained by a software vendor. Anaggregator might not be able to create new blocks (e.g., because asoftware vendor might not purchase its own software). An aggregator maybe included as a recipient for one or more emitted usage events. Anaggregator might not emit any usage events itself. An aggregator mayhave a full copy of the blockchain. The aggregator may receive a requestto audit a part or all of the blockchain, and may provide informationregarding the part of all of the blockchain in response to such arequest.

These and other device features may become more apparent through thedescription of the steps of the flow diagram of FIG. 8.

In step 802, a client device (e.g., for a first user) may create anidentity on a blockchain. For example, a customer in a mobile managedsystem (e.g., any mobile service) may be automatically added as a peerin a private blockchain. In step 804, a private/public key pair may begenerated, and may be used as the identity on the blockchain for thispeer (and potentially any transactions that this peer performs). Thismay be similar to creating an identity on BITCOIN or other anotherblockchain system.

There are multiple options for how a customer's node may participate inthe blockchain. In one or more embodiments, a plugin (e.g., anopen-source plugin) may be added to an existing software agent that isalready running in the customer's environment. In this manner, allcustomers may automatically participate in the blockchain system. Sincethe plugin is open-source software, a concerned customer can do theirown checksum calculation, or even build and deploy their own plugin, inorder to have trust in the node doing the validation.

In a variation of this option, the customer may download and run anagent in their customer environment. This may give the customer evenfurther control over the node, but might reduce participation to justthose customers that really care that the license usage events areauditable and not tampered with.

In step 806, a usage event may occur. For example, a user may log into aVDA or a user may enroll on a mobile device. The user may launch aparticular application on a particular device (e.g., a mobile device, alaptop, a desktop, a server) at a particular time. The usage event maybe recorded as a pending transaction within the blockchain system. Insome embodiments, one or more groups of usage events may constitute asingle transaction.

In step 808, the client may send one or more pending transactions to anaggregator and/or a customer's validator. Specifically, the one or moretransactions may be emitted in at least two possible different ways.

First, a transaction may be emitted on behalf of a customer. Thetransaction for the usage event may be issued in the name of thecustomer that the transaction is associated with. For example, atransaction may be “Customer ‘123ABC’ has user ‘xyz’ launching a sessionat time ‘efg.’” In one or more embodiments, one or more details of theevent may be anonymized. The “mapping” to decipher the usage events maybe held in the customer's context (e.g., only the customer and the cloudservice may decipher the details). In one or more embodiments, thetransaction being emitted on behalf of the customer may be implementedby having a server-side component create the usage event.

Second, a transaction may be emitted by the entity of the usage event.For example, the transaction for the usage event may be issued by theentity itself, such as the VDA or the mobile device. For this to occur,the entity (e.g., VDA, mobile device) may have registered or mayregister itself with a managed customer's cloud service. The actualidentity of that entity may be known only to the customer and to thecloud service. The customer may validate one or more entityregistrations, since the customer would know which VDAs or mobiledevices the customer has. Additionally, the entity (e.g., VDA, mobiledevice) may generate its own public/private key to create an identity onthe blockchain. As an example of a transaction on the blockchain, atransaction may be in the form “Entity ‘123ABC’ has launched a sessionat time ‘efg.’” In one or more embodiments, one or more details of theevent may be anonymized. In one or more embodiments, only the customerand the cloud service may decipher the details of the event. In one ormore embodiments, having the transaction be emitted by the entity of theusage event (as opposed to being emitted on behalf of the customer) maygrant more trust, since the entity (e.g., VDA, mobile device) may beunder the control of the customer that is issuing the transactions. Inone or more embodiments, if the transaction is not posted (e.g., due toa connectivity issue, due to being blocked), then the software on theentity (e.g., VDA, mobile device) might not be able to proceed or work.For example, a service provider (e.g., using an aggregator) maydetermine a ratio of devices that correspond to a particular customer,and usage patterns for those devices. If the customer has, for example,enrolled 300 devices for use with the blockchain, but none of thosedevices have reported any usage for a month (or some other thresholdperiod of time), the service provider may determine that there is aproblem with a usage reporting agent installed on the customer'sdevices, and/or that the customer's usage reports are being blocked ortampered with. If the customer's devices do not report usage, then theremight be a threshold period of time after which the customer's devicesare blocked from accessing one or more services (e.g., softwareapplications). Thus, the customer cannot block connectivity to theblockchain in order to avoid paying for usage. In one or moreembodiments, the transaction may be emitted by the entity of the usageevent by a client-side component that creates the usage event.

In one or more embodiments, the customer may be able to trust that theentity itself is sending the correct license usage events. Specifically,in mobile platforms, it may be difficult to create a plugin systemwhereby an app can load and execute a separate binary. So as analternative, the entity sending the license usage events may be astand-alone component (which may be open-sourced). A software vendor'sclient software may have a requirement that the entity exist and berunning on the same device. Ultimately, because the entity may berunning in an environment that is under the control of the customer, andthe customer can also do their own periodic confirmation, the customermay be able to trust that the entity is sending correct license usageevents.

In step 810, the client may post the pending transaction (e.g., thetransactions that were emitted in step 808 may be distributed andvalidated). The pending transaction(s) may be distributed and validatedin at least three different possible ways.

First, the transactions may be distributed to an aggregator. One or moreaggregators may be set up, and the transactions (the usage events) maybe sent to an aggregator. The aggregator may make public all of thepending transactions (as well as the entire blockchain). Anyone may beable to periodically download the ledger and compare it against previouscopies to see if the ledger has been tampered with. If the transactionis distributed to an aggregator, in one or more embodiments theaggregator may be trusted for the initial transaction. In one or moreembodiments, the nodes might do little or no validation. The aggregatormay facilitate the recording of the transactions and to broadcast themto all of the nodes. Distributing the transactions to an aggregator, insome embodiments, might not enhance trust in the initial transaction.

After the pending transaction is distributed, the pending transactionmay be validated and added to a new block. If the transaction wasdistributed to just an aggregator, the aggregator may be trusted to haverecorded the event. The validation may include confirming that there areno duplicate transactions (e.g., same entity at same time for sameservice/product) and/or that there are no spurious transactions (e.g.,same entity sending too many events within a threshold period of time).

As a second approach, the transactions may be distributed to anaggregator and to one or more validators. This may be known as a “mixedmode” distribution. As an example, in addition to being sent to anaggregator, the transaction event may be also sent to one or more nodesparticipating in the blockchain that the entity trusts (e.g., one of thenodes may be under the customer's control). In one or more embodiments,the node may be addressable by other nodes participating in theblockchain system. The transaction event may be a record of a licensingusage event sent to two (or more) parties. In some embodiments, amajority of the parties must agree that the usage event occurred. Thismay be similar to a transaction between two (or more) parties. If theusage event is sent to only two parties, and both parties don't agree,then the usage event may be handled the same way if the entity is notsending events at all. In some embodiments, this may lead to the cliententity no longer functioning, since the client might not continue toreceive the service if usage events are not successfully recorded.Distributing the transactions to an aggregator and to the one or morevalidators may allow the validator nodes to contact both parties andvalidate that the license usage event occurred. This approach mayprovide a good balance between trust and practicality.

After the pending transaction is distributed, the pending transactionmay be validated and added to a new block. If the transaction wasdistributed to an aggregator and one or more validators, one or morenodes doing validation may first read the pending transactions from theaggregator, then reach out to the correct validator(s) node (which maybe recorded in the transaction itself) to confirm it. In this approach,the aggregator may have an incentive to always record transactions(e.g., licensing usage events). For example, this may be the case if theaggregator is maintained by a software vendor (e.g., that is providing asoftware or other service associated with the usage event).

As a third approach, the transactions may be distributed to allvalidators. Similar to the approach explained in FIG. 7, the licenseusage event (e.g., the transaction) may be broadcast to all nodesparticipating in the blockchain (e.g., via a peer-to-peer (P2P)network). In one or more embodiments, the node may be addressable byother nodes participating in the blockchain system. This approach mightnot be as efficient as the “mixed mode” distribution in a system with ahigh volume of license usage events and/or a high number of potentialnodes in the system.

After the pending transaction is distributed, the pending transactionmay be validated and added to a new block. If the transaction wasdistributed to all validators, a majority calculation may be performed,which may validate that at least 51% of the nodes recorded the pendingtransaction. Alternatively, a subset of all nodes may be randomlychosen, and if 51% of that subset agree on the pending transactions,then they may be validated. In some proof-of-stake approaches, this maybe how pending transactions are validated.

In one or more embodiments, a smart contract may be used with atransaction to record who did what and when (e.g., in an anonymousmanner), and/or may provide for pricing based on usage. This may allowtwo parties to record in an auditable way the price that was agreed uponbetween the two parties.

In step 812, a second client device (e.g., for a different customer) mayobtain a license. This may occur concurrently, before, or after thesecond client device referenced in step 802 obtains a license.

In step 814, the second client device may be allowed to create a newblock. The creation of the blocks can be done in various ways.

For example, a proof-of-work approach may be used to create a new block.A customer may opt to run a mining device, which may allow the customerto earn two-fold rewards. This approach may provide the customer withthe assurance that a single-party doesn't control more than 51% of themining devices, which may provide assurance that the ledger remainstamper-proof. In one or more embodiments, a mining device may earn acredit (e.g., redeemable for one or more additional licenses, additionalusage time). In one or more embodiments, many independent contributorsmay be creating blocks, and/or no individual contributor can easilycreate more than 51% of the blocks.

Another approach to creating a new block may include a proof-of-licenseapproach. In this approach, e.g., for every X number of licenses that acustomer purchases, the customer creates a block. This be similar to aproof-of-stake approach, but might not be based on peers contributing astake into the pool and then being able to create up to that manyadditional blocks. Instead, the proof-of-license approach may be basedon the number of licenses purchased, which allows the customer to createa certain number of blocks. In one or more embodiments, a proof-of-workapproach may be used in a global popular system where there to arelicense purchases on a regular basis. In this approach, many independentcontributors may create blocks, and no individual contributor can easilycreate more than 51% of the blocks.

A proof-of-license approach to creating new blocks may differ from adifferent approach (e.g., a proof-of-stake approach) in one or moreways. For example, a proof-of-license approach might not require anycollateral. As another example, a proof-of-license approach might nothave a reward system for creating blocks (e.g., a miner might not earncurrency for the transactions attached to the blocks that are created).In one or more embodiments, a proof-of-license approach may be based onhow many licenses the customer obtains.

In step 816, the second client device may read the pending transactions,which may include the pending transaction posted to the blockchain instep 810.

In step 818, for each pending transaction, the second client device mayreach out to the aggregator and/or validator to verify that the usageevent occurred.

In step 820, the verified pending transactions may be attached to theblock, and the block may be added to the blockchain.

Thus, a distributed ledger may be created, in an anonymous manner, wherecustomers can see their recorded usage in a way that can't be tamperedwith (e.g., anyone can audit the ledger).

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are described asexample implementations of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device comprising: at least oneprocessor; and memory storing computer-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:receive, from a client entity that is registered with a cloud service,usage event data that indicates a usage event associated with the cliententity, wherein the client entity comprises a client device or anapplication of the client device, and wherein the cloud service is formonitoring usage reported by client entities; based on one or morenodes, associated with a distributed database, having received a pendingtransaction for the usage event from an aggregator that received theusage event data, receive, from the one or more nodes, a request for aconfirmation that the usage event occurred, wherein the distributeddatabase indicates, via one or more database entries, the usage reportedby the client entities; as a response to the request and based on thecomputing device having received the usage event data from the cliententity, send, to the one or more nodes, the confirmation that the usageevent occurred; and update a local copy of the distributed database toinclude a database entry for the usage event.
 2. The computing device ofclaim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed,cause the computing device to: receive a request to audit thedistributed database; and send, responsive to the request to audit thedistributed database, information regarding the one or more databaseentries.
 3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein thecomputer-readable instructions, when executed, cause the computingdevice to: determine, based on the one or more database entries of thedistributed database, usage information regarding the client entities;determine, based on the usage information, that usage reported by theclient entities is below a threshold; and based on the usage reported bythe client entities being below the threshold, send, to the clientdevice, an indication that there is a usage reporting problem with theclient entities.
 4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein theexecutable instructions, when executed, cause the computing device to:determine, based on the one or more entries of the distributed database,usage information regarding the client entities; determine, based on theusage information, that usage reported by the client entities is below athreshold; and based on the usage reported by the client entities beingbelow the threshold, cause one or more devices associated with theclient identify to be blocked from accessing virtual desktop softwareinstalled on the one or more devices.
 5. The computing device of claim1, wherein the pending transaction indicates the usage event viaanonymized data.
 6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein thedatabase entry is created based on a number of licenses to a virtualdesktop service that has been purchased by one or more clientsassociated with the one or more nodes.
 7. A method comprising:receiving, by a computing device and from a client entity that isregistered with a cloud service, usage event data that indicates a usageevent associated with the client entity, wherein the client entitycomprises a client device or an application of the client device, andwherein the cloud service is for monitoring usage reported by cliententities; based on one or more nodes, associated with a distributeddatabase, having received a pending transaction for the usage event froman aggregator that received the usage event data, receiving, by thecomputing device and from one or more nodes, a request for aconfirmation that the usage event occurred, wherein the distributeddatabase indicates, via one or more database entries, the usage reportedby the client entities; as a response to the request and based on thecomputing device having received the usage event data from the cliententity, sending, by the computing device and to the one or more nodes,the confirmation that the usage event occurred; and updating, by thecomputing device, a local copy of the distributed database to include adatabase entry for the usage event.
 8. The method of claim 7,comprising: receiving a request to audit the distributed database; andsending, responsive to the request to audit the distributed database,information regarding the one or more database entries.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, comprising: determining, based on the one or more databaseentries of the distributed database, usage information regarding theclient entities; determining, based on the usage information, that usagereported by the client entities is below a threshold; and based on theusage reported by the client entities being below the threshold, send,to the client device, an indication that there is a usage reportingproblem with the client entities.
 10. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: determining, based on the one or more entries of thedistributed database, usage information regarding the client entities;determining, based on the usage information, that usage reported by theclient entities is below a threshold; and based on the usage reported bythe client entities being below the threshold, causing one or moredevices associated with the client identify to be blocked from accessingvirtual desktop software installed on the one or more devices.
 11. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the pending transaction indicates the usageevent via anonymized data.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein thedatabase entry is created based on a number of licenses to a virtualdesktop service that has been purchased by one or more clientsassociated with the one or more nodes.
 13. The method of claim 7,wherein the pending transaction indicates that the computing device isto be sent the request for the confirmation.
 14. The method of claim 7,wherein the database entry results from a proof-of-work processperformed by one or more mining devices that are different from thecomputing device.
 15. The method of claim 7, wherein the database entryresults from a proof-of-license process performed by one or more miningdevices that are different from the computing device.
 16. One or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing executable instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors, cause a system to:receive, from a client entity that is registered with a cloud service,usage event data that indicates a usage event associated with the cliententity, wherein the client entity comprises a client device or anapplication of the client device, and wherein the cloud service is formonitoring usage reported by client entities; based on one or morenodes, associated with a distributed database, having received a pendingtransaction for the usage event from an aggregator that received theusage event data, receive, from the one or more nodes, a request for aconfirmation that the usage event occurred, wherein the distributeddatabase indicates, via one or more database entries, the usage reportedby the client entities; as a response to the request and based on thecomputing device having received the usage event data from the cliententity, send, to the one or more nodes, the confirmation that the usageevent occurred; and update a local copy of the distributed database toinclude a database entry for the usage event.
 17. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein theexecutable instructions, when executed, cause the system to: receive arequest to audit the distributed database; and send, responsive to therequest to audit the distributed database, information regarding the oneor more database entries.
 18. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the executableinstructions, when executed, cause the system to: determine, based onthe one or more entries of the distributed database, usage informationregarding the client entities; determine, based on the usageinformation, that usage reported by the client entities is below athreshold; and based on the usage reported by the client entities beingbelow the threshold, cause one or more devices associated with theclient identify to be blocked from accessing virtual desktop softwareinstalled on the one or more devices.
 19. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the pending transactionindicates the usage event via anonymized data.
 20. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the databaseentry is created based on a number of licenses to a virtual desktopservice that has been purchased by one or more clients associated withthe one or more nodes.